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MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (AP) -- Los Angeles County's sheriff said Saturday the killing of a deputy during a gang investigation shows that gang violence in southern California is out of control.
"This is barbarism. This is ignorance. This is something that doesn't fit the human dignity," Sheriff Lee Baca said at a news conference. He also criticized "incompetent families that don't know what to do with their errant children."
Baca called on state and local officials to provide more funding for anti-gang efforts, both by law enforcement and through social efforts such as providing better education and job opportunities to disadvantaged youth.
Deputy Jerry Ortiz, 35, was shot point-blank in the head Friday as he talked to a woman at an apartment building in Hawaiian Gardens, about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, authorities said.
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Jose Orozco, 27, was later arrested. Deputies found him three doors away, "cowering in a bathtub" where he apparently had hidden for three hours, Baca said.
Orozco remained jailed without bail Saturday. District Attorney Steve Cooley said he could face a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a possible death penalty.
Ortiz was a 15-year veteran of the department who worked with a gang enforcement team. He had gone to an apartment complex seeking information about Orozco, Capt. Ray Peavy said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered his condolences to the deputy's family. Ortiz had been married three weeks ago and had two sons, ages 16 and 6.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
"This is barbarism. This is ignorance. This is something that doesn't fit the human dignity," Sheriff Lee Baca said at a news conference. He also criticized "incompetent families that don't know what to do with their errant children."
Baca called on state and local officials to provide more funding for anti-gang efforts, both by law enforcement and through social efforts such as providing better education and job opportunities to disadvantaged youth.
Deputy Jerry Ortiz, 35, was shot point-blank in the head Friday as he talked to a woman at an apartment building in Hawaiian Gardens, about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, authorities said.
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Jose Orozco, 27, was later arrested. Deputies found him three doors away, "cowering in a bathtub" where he apparently had hidden for three hours, Baca said.
Orozco remained jailed without bail Saturday. District Attorney Steve Cooley said he could face a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a possible death penalty.
Ortiz was a 15-year veteran of the department who worked with a gang enforcement team. He had gone to an apartment complex seeking information about Orozco, Capt. Ray Peavy said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered his condolences to the deputy's family. Ortiz had been married three weeks ago and had two sons, ages 16 and 6.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
